A Soul Rejoices
by gaia's-daughter
Summary: Spoilers for BD: Edward recalls some major moments in his life. Bella gave us her view, but Edward fills in the gaps.


**A soul rejoices…**

The characters contained in this story belong to Stephenie Meyer and I hope she does not mind my use of them in my flight of fancy.

I.

Isabella Swan was the most beautiful woman in the world to me, Edward Masen Cullen, and my still heart seemed to shift in my quiet chest, as she walked toward me a blushing vision in a column of white satin, on her father, Charlie's arm. She gave the distinct impression of having stepped out of a Renoir painting and there were no words to describe her exquisite loveliness. I could only look on, as did everyone else in the room that my sister, Alice, had transformed, in wonder. Her freesia scent was as intoxicating as ever, and rose above the freesias dripping from the very rafters, the many roses, orange blossoms, and lilacs draping every surface in the room. I inhaled deeply, loving it, even as it burned my throat, and reminded me of the ubiquitous thirst I would never quench, and the woman I would always love.

At that moment, she looked up, her liquid chocolate eyes, dark pools in her pale heart-shaped face, made paler by the regal mahogany crown of her hair; no princess was more grand, no bride more enchanting. Her eyes searched for and found mine, and that familiar electricity flowed between us and I was happy. No, not just happy, I was exultant! Can a body contain such elation? I smiled and her eyes lit up so brightly with love for me, they were all I could see. I swelled with pride, even as I heard Carlisle's cool, mental voice tell me: "_And you would believe there was no God, yet there is your angel…"_ Chagrined, I had no argument.I forced myself to remain there next to Carlisle, when with every fiber of my being, I longed to flash down the short aisle and sweep her into my arms, and kiss her senseless in front of everyone; propriety be damned. I didn't even care if Emmett teased me for the rest of eternity because of it. I wanted to claim what was mine, what had taken nearly a century to find me. Love.

The notes from Wagner's Wedding March moved too slowly for me, as I waited for my Bella to reach me. I held out my hand, surprised that it was not trembling with all the tumultuous emotions that leapt inside of me. Charlie gave me a very solemn look as he placed Bella's small, hand in mine and my world righted, and the sense of coming home, truly filled me. If I could have cried, I would have done so, tears of nothing but joy.

The minister, Mr. Webster, began the words that would change our lives and I looked into Bella's beautiful, adoring eyes, wondering how she could love me, but so happy that she did. I watched as crystalline tears welled up in her eyes and spilled over her thick, sooty lashes, wanting to kiss them away, taste them. Then she opened her mouth and whispered the words that I heard as though they were a shout from the rooftop: "I do." She loved me. She loved me and proclaimed that she wanted to be mine in front of our families and friends! Euphoria swept through me and I grew light-headed; it was like that feeling I got when I first kissed Bella after our first trek to our meadow.

And then it was my turn to say the words that would bind. They erupted from deep within me in a near exclamation of victory. How could I not feel victorious as I stared into the eyes that held my soul? "I do," I promised, and I'd never meant anything more.

II.

Last night, I waited, naked… nervous, beneath an oval moon, for her to join me in the silky, intimate warmth of the water, while the sultry heat of the island clung to me like an ardent lover. If I were human, I would have said that I had butterflies in my stomach. However, the fluttering and stirring for me, was much lower. I was a man and I wanted my wife desperately, but as much as I wanted to make love to Bella, I didn't want to hurt her; I'd rather die than do her any harm. But she wanted this, and I could deny her nothing. I told her that we would try and we would. I only hoped that that monster in me which I had suppressed for so long, never had a chance to escape. I had to be… careful; I would be careful. I sighed deeply as I stared up at the night sky, the moon hanging so low, I could almost touch it. I listened to her move around inside the house, her hesitation almost palpable, her breathing accelerating and steadying several times before I heard her whispered, "Don't be a coward." I smiled; so brave, my Bella.

Moments later, I heard her steps as she placed her feet in the fine, beautiful white sand and moved trustingly toward me. The water stirred about me, a thousand gentle fingers stroking, as she waded in. That and the subsequent press of her hand on mine, set my body afire with the hunger only she brought out in me. I breathed in her scent and I couldn't slow the immediate response of my body to her luscious heat. The things she did to me without any effort on her part…amazing.

"Beautiful," she whispered, from behind me.

"It's all right," I told her, thinking that my wife was the most beautiful thing in the world, and that she was standing near me, as naked as I, for the first time. _My wife. My Bella. Mine._ I needed to see her; I had waited so long for this, for the right to see her, touch her. I turned slowly to face her and my stomach muscles tightened as I twined our fingers together. I let my eyes flicker quickly over her bare flesh, rosy now, as her blood rose to greet me, to sing. A Siren's song…

"But I wouldn't use the word _beautiful_," I murmured. "Not with you standing here in comparison." I meant every word. She was mouthwatering. She gave me a shy smile and holding my eyes with hers, she lifted her free hand and placed it, palm down, over my still heart. The heat of her touch was amazing. I shuddered, and struggled to breathe. I wanted her so much; I prayed that I wouldn't lose control and all our hopes and desires end badly.

"I promised we would _try_," I whispered, as every muscle tensed. "If…if I do something wrong, if I hurt you, you must tell me at once." I thought to myself, _please God, don't let me hurt her; don't let me hurt her. _Bella, my trusting Bella, nodded and stepped closer, slowly, so that the water lapped gently about us-sexy, so sexy… She leant her damp head against my chest and I swelled with love, pride, need.

"Don't be afraid." Her voice was a sweet murmur in the night. "We belong together." She was music, and all her notes were mine to play. I wanted to taste the lips that brought forth such sweet melodies, again and again. She calmed my fears and there was a feeling, a profound rightness, which swept over us. We were one, and would be one in every sense of the word.

I wrapped my arms around her, losing myself in her heartbeat, that glorious sound cushioned beneath her soft breasts, so warm against my cool chest. She was soft and fragile, and mine to cherish. I would do so for an eternity.

"Forever," I agreed, and pulled her, lifting her in my arms, into deeper water. Her hands slipped up over my shoulders and her arms went about my neck. Her bare skin stroked mine and was silkier than the water that swirled about us, as she slid against me, closer than we had ever been before, more intimate than I had ever hoped for…The feeling was indescribably sensual…arousing…A frisson of desire shook me, and my breath stuttered in my chest; I could wait no longer. I needed to taste her…

I brushed my parted lips along her bare shoulder and she shivered, closing her eyes, her breathing becoming erratic, labored. _I_ did this to her…_and I loved it_. I dipped my head again, and let my tongue slide lazily along the line of her collarbone to the inviting hollow at the base of her throat. She made a noise, a moan; it was full of longing and I echoed it, as I kept moving my feet until the ocean's shelf fell away, and I treaded water, effortlessly. Her head fell back and I shifted my arm about her, allowing the dark fall of her hair to float ethereally behind her. The fragrant scent of her blood enveloped me once more, as a breeze swept about us, and the burning in my throat took precedence for a second, before passing, as I concentrated on how much I loved her, how much I wanted to please her, be with her. I caressed her throat with my nose, her scent playing havoc with my will, and feathered my lips along the same path, as she shivered anew. I swallowed, my mouth suddenly dry, when I felt her nipples flower and harden against my cool chest. It caught me off-guard with its blatant eroticism. I nearly let my teeth scrape her skin, before I arrested the movement. Careful…

"Edward… Edward…Edward," she sighed, as my seeking lips trailed along the underside of her jaw, the sensitive area behind her ear. She stopped breathing. Gently, I sucked her earlobe into my mouth, teased it with my tongue, set it free. Unhurried, I pressed a kiss to the wildly beating pulse along her throat. Heady with the moment, my smile against her skin was sure, smug. I was good at this. I would make her happy.

"Breathe, Bella," I reminded her, as my hand slid down her back, tracing the sweet curve of her spine, discovering the smooth line of her firm behind. Her chest heaved deliciously against mine, as air rushed in. I cupped the simple curve of her bottom in my hand and lifted her slightly, and her legs came up to clasp about my waist. We almost went under, then, as her body's torrid heat encircled me, and I had my own breathless moment, shutting my eyes tightly, and clenching my jaw.

"Oh, Bella…don't move, my love…please don't…" I whispered, my voice, suddenly rough, husky. I was dying and it felt so good…so very good. I was hard, painfully so, and she was flush against the length of my erection, and causing such amazing sensations with friction, that I could hardly keep from grasping her hips and plunging into her. Without warning the heat of her core had assaulted me, and the shimmer of water between us was nothing, a conduit, perhaps, and I fought for equilibrium, control. Nothing had prepared me for this; nothing could. Jolts of electricity shot through me, and my body quaked uncontrollably against hers, making the water about us frothy. Opening my suddenly heavy-lidded eyes, I found myself staring into Bella's dark, dilated ones. In that moment, I saw the seductress and ingénue in my angel, and all else was forgotten, except the growing need to seduce and be seduced, to claim and be claimed in return.

Our lips came together, quickly, as everything seemed to speed up. With one hand, I kneaded the soft flesh of her bottom, while I slipped the other to the back of her neck, where my fingers stroked the slender fragile column. She sighed, and my lips opened over hers, and my tongue swept into her mouth, and I greedily drank her in. Could she really taste better tonight than ever before? She did. She was a sweet wine on my tongue, and I savored her lovingly, repeatedly. Enthusiastically, she returned my kiss, her arms tightening about my neck. Caution was thrown to the winds as she gently sucked my tongue, and every muscle in my frame contracted in response. She bunched the hair at the back of my head in her hands, as she held me still, and took over the kiss. There was purpose and determination in the way she pressed her lips to mine and I held on to my fraying control…barely…as she rubbed her breasts against me, and slipped her tongue into my mouth, on a fearless foray.

She made me weak. I, the world's greatest predator, was at the mercy of a slight, slip of a woman, who had trouble walking without injuring herself. She handled me, artfully, with apparent ease, confidence, even. No more so, than when breathing raggedly, she broke the kiss, leaned back and whispered, "Touch me, Edward. Touch me." I did as she asked, as she tightened her hold on me.

My hands found her breasts, above the water line, so soft and full beneath my palms, the nipples, hard and slick against my thumbs. I brushed the pert peaks with the pads of my thumbs and she gasped, trembling, clenching her thighs about me harder, her eyes rolling backwards. For a moment, I thought that she'd probably bruise from the way she held onto me, but the thought was fleeting-I _loved_ the way it felt. I dipped my head and let my cool tongue tickle the tip of her breast, and was delighted at her sharp intake of breath. Encouraged, I took the throbbing tip into my mouth and I sucked, none too gently, feeling her spasm against me, her hips bucking uncontrollably. As immersed as we were in the water, I could still feel a close rush of wet heat from her drench my penis. What magic the human body could produce! This just kept getting better and better…I released her nipple, and rushed to pull the other peak into my mouth, taking a deep draw on it, and feeling the trembling start in her once more. I licked the precious bud, rolling it in my lips, sucking harder, pulling deeper. She screamed, her body shuddering roughly in my arms.

Bewildered, I let go, thinking that I had hurt her.

"Bella, darling; what's wrong? Did I hurt you?" I was instantly contrite.

She was incoherent, as she tried to breathe, and speak, her eyes unfocused. "Edwar…oh…God…"

I was frantic. I had hurt her. I had hurt her. "Darling, are you o.k.?" _Please, forgive me!_

And then she did the most confounded thing: she smiled. When she smiled, her eyes beginning to focus, she locked her gaze with mine. Fire. She was fire…"That was _right_, Edward. _So right._ I'm not hurt. I want you. Now. Finish what you started!"

I didn't think; I reacted. One moment we were in the water, the next we were sinking into the depths of white down that covered the bed. Bella lay beneath me, her lips swollen, her body flushed, as I hovered a breath above her. She smiled, again, her heart in her eyes. A rush of relief and joy went through me, and I crushed her lips with mine in a series of frenzied kisses, as I lowered myself upon her, one knee between hers. One hand slipped between us, and without preamble, my fingers slid into the silken depths of her. _Hot. Hot. Hot_. I shuddered and she mouthed the word, yes, but no sound came forth. She moved against my hand, her body ebbing and flowing, rivaling the ocean we had left, her face a mask of concentration and pleasure. Beautiful. Powerful. I growled, deep in my throat, and she didn't seem to mind at all. I withdrew my fingers, letting them slide along the slick folds of her womanhood, her intimate scent, intoxicating me. I lifted her hips slightly, and she arched her back, every nerve screaming with my intent, as my penis butted up against the opening to that sweetest and most intimate of corridors. The question hung unspoken between us, as our eyes met and clung. She nodded, dazedly, and then I was sliding into that tight, wet passageway, burning as I went, and loving every flash of heat that suffused me, every spasm that shook me, that shook her…

"Bella, Bella!" I yelled and the roar reverberated on the air, bounced off the walls. She didn't move, she only clung to me, and I lingered, just inside her, trying to breathe, trying to keep from losing my mind. I was about to hurt her, but I could see no way around it; I couldn't stop and she didn't want me to. I had to have more. _Finish what you started._

She leaned forward and traced my lips with her tongue. I shivered… pushing further into her and feeling the give of flesh, the tear, her wince. I paused letting it pass, as I gulped for air, and then her lips found mine again, roughly, passionately, madly. I gave her back, kiss for kiss, touch for touch. I told her that I loved her, between kisses, between caresses, as my body rushed to fill hers. Again and again.

In all my years of life and death, I had not anticipated this, and I thanked the providence that brought us together, binding our hearts, our fates. I was the luckiest man on earth, dead or alive. I had to be; I simply had to be. And then all thoughts and the process of thinking were lost in the maelstrom of sensations that battered me, lifted me, twisted me, tortured me, thrilled me…pleased me. I remember Bella's triumphant, "Yes!" and a cloud of feathers drifting about us as we rose up, my own voice crying out incoherently as her muscles clenched about me, dragging me into unmitigated pleasure and oblivion. And when I could no longer speak, I closed my eyes, and let my soul rejoice.


End file.
